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FEATURE 46 ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2005 Shipbuilding Sydney-based ADI Ltd has teamed up with the Newcastle-based Forgacs Group to bid for the Australian Navy's amphibious ships program and oil tanker conversion project. ADI is also working with the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California (NASSCO). NASSCO, which is researching new-generation ver- sions of amphibious ships, is one of three US shipbuilders which form the General Dynamics Marine Group. ADI managing director, Lucio Di Bartolomeo, said the three companies provided a proven combination of inter- national and Australian naval capabili- ties ideally suited to the demands of the amphibious ships project. "Our consortium has demonstrated experience in building naval ships of more than 25,000t," he said. "ADI's on schedule, within budget construction of the Navy's Huon Class minehunters demonstrated many of the prime con- tractor skills required for the prime con- tracting role for the construction of the amphibious ships. "And NASSCO is one of America's biggest and most successful naval ship- building companies," he said. The fleet oiler project would involve converting an existing commercial tanker of 37,000t to replace HMAS Westralia. The Department of Defence last year paid $50 million for the Delos, a new double-hulled tanker constructed by the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Com- pany in Korea. The ship will need to be reconfigured so that it can refuel a variety of ships in- cluding the ANZAC and guided missile frigates and the new Air Warfare De- stroyers. Some of the modifications would include the replenishment-at-sea refuelling rig and a helicopter deck. Ac- commodation would also be upgraded, including heating, ventilation and airconditioning modifications. Water and sewerage services would be aug- mented and life-saving and damage con- trol modifications carried out. The makeover of this ship is expected to cost about $70 million. The amphibious ships program, worth about $2 billion is much more demanding. The design of these ships is yet to be finalised, but they will probably be about 27,000t each and look like air- craft carriers, except they would house large numbers of helicopters and expe- ditionary troops. The deck will be de- signed to allow large numbers of helicop- ters to take off at the same time. The design will include a dock for loading and launching landing craft. This combina- tion of features is why this class of ship is referred to in the military as an LHD (landing helicopter dock). ADI and Forgacs possess the marine infrastructure to support such a project. This includes the Captain Cook dry dock in Sydney (the biggest dock in the coun- try), the Forgacs' floating dock in Newcastle and Forgacs' Cairncross dry dock in Brisbane. Forgacs also owns the Tomago shipbuilding yard about 15km upriver from Newcastle, set up in the 1980s by the former Newcastle ship- builder Carrington Slipways. Among other projects, the Tomago yard has pro- duced modules for shipbuilder Tenix, the contractor for the ANZAC frigates. Both ADI and Forgacs also compete with each other to carry out extensive repair and maintenance refits on the ex- isting Navy fleet. This situation will not be affected by the amphibious ships/oil tanker alliance. Di Bartolomeo said if the consortium were successful in its aims it would re- turn naval shipbuilding to Queensland and ensure it continued in the Hunter area of NSW. "ADI is currently progressing the most sophisticated warship enhance- ment program undertaken in Australia -- the upgrade of Australia's guided mis- sile frigates (FFG). The first of the frig- ates to be upgraded, HMAS Sydney re- cently undertook the first phase of sea trials. "For this project ADI is carrying out both the prime contractor and the com- bat system design authority roles. It is the first time that an Australian company has fulfilled both functions on a major ship- building/upgrade project in Australia," he said. Firms line up for defence work ADI's dry dock and shipyard at Garden Island, Sydney.